Italy part 3 – Sorrento, Pompeii, and Capri
July 16, 2009
the Antsy Atens
The second part of our Italy trip included a stay in beautiful Sorrento, a morning at Pompeii – the sight of the ruined city destroyed by the eruption of nearby Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D., and an afternoon on the island of Capri.
In Sorrento, our hotel was called “Europa Palace” and it truly was a palace – so beautiful! The only thing, though, is that our showers were incredibly small. They were incredibly small the entire trip, but this was the worst. I’m not a big person and I had a hard time maneuvering around in this shower. We ended up shaving our legs in the b’day (no idea how to spell that).
WHat can I say, I loved Pompeii! We were able to see a few of the plaster of Pompeiians (most are in a museum in Naples) which was amazing. The people were covered in 25 feet of ash, then it rained. The rain compacted the ash on top of the bodies. As time passed, the bodies decayed, but the empty cavity remained. As archeologists discovered this, they decided to fill the empty cavities with a plaster, then chip away the ash, leaving behind plaster in the shape of the Pompeiians exactly as they were the moment they died. You can understand from a history nerd’s perspective that this is significant! This helps us capture a Roman city exactly as it was.
Entrance to Pompeii
"beware of dog" mosaic at entrance to Pompeiian house
Plaster of Pompeii Dog
Stray Pompeii dog
One of the saddest sights was a pregnant woman who had fallen face down and was trying to protect herself and her baby.
Pompeii pregnant woman
A few of us also went into a cameo shop at Pompeii to see how they are made. I purchased a cameo there for Andie. It shows a mother and her baby with a blue background so I plan to give it to her when she gets married.
At Capri, we mostly did a lot of shopping. there’s a perfumeria there where they make their own unique perfume. We also stuck our feet in the Mediterranean, which was painful because it’s not a sandy beach, but a very rocky one. Ouch! Of course, we ate gelatto. We ate gelatto every day in Italy. “When in Rome (or anywhere else in Italy for that matter)…” My friend Heather had told me before leaving that Italians don’t drink capuccinos after lunch in Italy. I found out why that day. I had a capaccino with my gelatto and had an incredibly rough time sleepy that night. Man, it was good though.
Fun times!
Gelatto and capaccino in Capri
On to Florence! Passport check, everyone!
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1.
Bonnie |
July 24, 2009 at 2:16 am
LOL – you just had to make a comment about the passport. Will I ever live that down? I am so glad y’all were there to take care of me though